


a short moment in time

by wurmz



Category: Persona 5
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:49:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27874110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wurmz/pseuds/wurmz
Summary: A gift bestowed upon loved ones is a gift bestowed upon thineself.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	a short moment in time

"Am I imposing by staying so late?" Akechi questioned, his tone light but his round eyes weighted with intent. There hadn't been coffee in his cup for going on two hours now, but still, he clung to it, hands eerily motionless all but for the gentle throb of the veins in his wrists. Ren studied them carefully, sure that if they did move, it would be to strike. 

"Most people would say so," he answered obliquely. One of those lethal fingers twitched, only slightly, and it took great discipline for Ren not to flinch.

"And you?" Akechi's lashes drooped, obscuring the meaningful depths of his stare in the same haphazard sort of way you hide a love letter—that is, with its corners poking out where only the intended recipient could spot them. A tingle tumbled down Ren's spine at the thought of finding a message penned by Akechi's multi-talented hands. 

"Nah. I wouldn't say that," he admitted.

What kind of confession would it hold? One for himself, or one for his crimes?

Broken from their spell, Akechi's hands retreated from the cup and tucked themselves up underneath his chin, a long, pleased sigh escaping him. "No, you wouldn't. You're not most people." Ren could almost hear the clack of ammunition being loaded into his next sentence. "You probably wouldn't mind if I stayed all night, would you?"

With steeled eyes, he leveled his gaze at Akechi's smirk. To his rhetorical question, he promptly replied, "No. I wouldn't." 

Akechi did not falter. It was with quiet elation that he savored that fleeting moment in time before social convention behooved him to reenter the conversation. It was often that he did this. In the presence of strangers or colleagues, he more commonly used it as a torture device, supporting them in discourse right they got too comfortable with relying on him, whereupon he would halt in his tracks and watch their very foundations crumble without his input. With Ren, however, schadenfreude didn't figure into his pleasure. In his case, it was more akin to the moment of repose we take after satisfying a base need, such as quenching a long-had thirst with a cool drink of water.

Finally, he recovered, drawing a gloved hand over his face as if to conceal a blush, but there was nothing there to cover. Contrary to what he'd have you believe, he was not bashful, and certainly not embarrassed. "Oh," he remarked. "I didn't mean for that to sound so suggestive."

Uh-huh. Of course not.

"...Though I sometimes think my nights would be more restful in Leblanc's tranquil atmosphere."

Ren flirted with this, mouthed the hook, considered taking the bait. But if Akechi was still in the frame of mind to be backpedaling, he wasn't about to bite for halfhearted provocations. So instead, he pointed his chin away in the other direction and quipped, "Wouldn't be restful if you sat there drinking coffee the whole time."

Obligingly, with a keen smile on his face, Akechi slid his cup forward with the very tips of his fingers. "I admit that would be a temptation for me." He cleared his throat, turned away, broke the tension. "I suppose I've stayed long enough, though. It's best not to wear out my welcome." Rising to his feet, he gathered his suitcase. "Thank you, as always, for catering to my—..." Ren shook a finger, silencing him. He gestured for him to return to his seat, and after casting him an appraising look, Akechi entertained his whims, settling back down with a tilt of his head. The sugar in his smile had all but dissolved, leaving a crooked, smirking, wary thing in its wake.

Satisfied, Ren trawled through his pockets, coming up with a cobalt blue velvet case. With a heavy clunk, he placed it on the counter before his guest, whose smile had by then vanished completely. Cautiously, as if it might bite, Akechi retrieved it, popping open the box to reveal a gleaming silver bangle. 

He studied it for a distended period of time, expression mild, before he pulled it from its rich casing and slid it onto his wrist. "This is quite the 'big ticket' item..." He held up his hand to admire the catch of the light on the accessory's curves. "You do realize that my salary pays more in a week than you could hope to make in a month?" His tone was patronizing. "I'm sure you could put that money toward something more useful than a peace offering."

Ren shook his head dismissively, staving off the quirk in his lips. "Don't worry. It's as much for me as it is for you."

Akechi allowed his arm to drop, bangled wrist resting limply on the bar. "So your motivations are selfish, then?"

In lieu of a reply, Ren chuckled, reaching out and dragging his knuckle against the mirror-like surface of the bangle, careful not to leave his fingerprints behind. Distantly, Akechi wondered whether his caution was for the jewelry's sake or for his own. After a period of brief, pointed silence, he inhaled sharply—exhaled—then spoke. "Have you heard of the love languages?"

Back, forth, back, forth; Ren's finger never stilled. The motion of his thumb— _so tender as it was_ —paired with the warmth of his expression— _so fond as it was_ —evoked the image of someone visiting their first-born in its bassinet. "Mm," Ren hummed, less of an affirmation and more of an invitation to continue.

"I suspect yours might be gift-giving." 

Ren shifted to set his elbow on the counter, leaning laxly against it. "Probably." He considered this further. "Well—maybe. But quality time is important too."

Akechi huffed, an almost-laugh. "I suppose it doesn't matter which is more dominant. You speak both fluently." A little distastefully, he drew his wrist out of Ren's reach. Without it to busy his fingers with, the barista's hands lingered in midair, unsure of what to do with themselves. "Time and money are two things people do not part with easily, yet you give them freely to almost anyone you meet. Whether they realize it or not, your friends are lucky people." Tilting his chin up, he looked down his nose at Ren, an air of condescension entering his voice before his next words. "...I'm sure they all love you dearly."

Finally, Ren's hands collapsed palms-down on the counter, defeated. He looked up at Akechi, a weak glimmer of hope in his eyes. "All of them?"

For a few short moments, the silence was deafening. Despite himself, Akechi found his fingers drawn to the bangle, just as Ren's had been. In a nervous habit uncharacteristic of him, he turned it slowly around his wrist, over and over. Finally, he cleared his throat.

"Well," he began, "All of _them,_ anyway."

**Author's Note:**

> This was something I wrote for my good friend Nik for their birthday. After a long time, I decided to post it. Short, but hopefully sweet. If you liked this, you may consider checking out my other Akeshu fic, the Sisyphean Reciprocity. :-]


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